Cam Musgrove, now 23, was a member of Nowra Athletics Club since he was 10 years old, but last year, after re-locating to Canberra, left the Club to join North Canberra-Gungahlin Athletics Club.
However, we are still laying claim to him!
In 2020 Cam competed in the NSW U23 Championship 800m. He came into that race with a PB of 1.54.25, just shy of the 1.54.00 National Qualifier.
Cam ran in Heat 3 and finished 5th in 1.56.92. It wasn’t a qualifier but it was enough to scrape through to the semi final in 18th place. So it was back to Sydney on Saturday for another opportunity to get the qualifier and a chance to contest a semi final in a highly competitive State field. Cam was impressive, putting in a champion effort to finish 7th in heat 2, clocking a PB and a National Qualifier of 1.53.78. Cam ended up 10th overall, missing out on a place in the final by just 0.4. Unfortunately, Cam was denied the opportunity to represent Nowra and NSW at the 2020 Australian Championships due to covid-19 cancelling the event.
Since then, despite continual disruptions to Track and Field programs, and limited race opportunities due to the ongoing impacts of COVID-19, Cam has been consistently improving and working towards that next goal of qualifying in the Opens category.
On January 28th this year, Cam competed in the AACT Open Championships, once again contesting the 800m in the B race.
He went into the event with a pb of 1.52.39.
He ran a superb race, with confidence and patience, accelerating at the final 200m mark to make up ground between him and the front runner. He sprinted hard down the home straight and came level with Corey Furminger from NSW, and in the end, it was a nail-biting finish. It was too close for the announcer to call, waiting on the official results to come up. Cam placed 2nd in 1.50.76 whilst Corey was awarded 1st in 1.50.75, but regardless of the placing, Cam had smashed his PB and earned himself a national qualifier, coming well under the qualifier of 1.51.5. He also took a silver medal for ACT for his efforts.
Regardless of the colours he wears, we are proud of his achievements and wish him all the best in the National Championships.
2022 Australian Track and Field Championships will be held from Saturday 26th March to Sunday 3rd April at Sydney Olympic Park Athletics Centre.
The men’s opens 800m heats will run on Thursday 31 March at 3.15pm with semi-finals on Friday at 11am and the final at 7.32pm on Saturday 2nd April.
Go Cam!
